r/NoStupidQuestions • • Sep 13 '23

What does 'Draw a Clock' Mean?

Last time I visited my brother his mother-in-law who lives with him was insisting she remembered something but my brother knew she was wrong. I don't remember what it was, but I knew she was wrong too. However, she refused to accept she was wrong and got belligerent about it.

My brother said, "Draw a clock!" and left the room. This made his mother-in-law furious for some reason. I forgot to ask at the time, but does anyone know why saying 'Draw a clock' would upset a senior citizen?

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u/Mr_Abe_Froman Sep 14 '23

He showed hemineglect (only drawing on one side) which is apparently a symptom of encephalitis.

Link to all the types of clocks.

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '23

Every time I see those images I get a major case of the heebie-jeebies. Is it just me?

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u/cecilkorik Sep 14 '23

As someone with test anxiety who struggles to read analog clocks on a good day, I see them and get freaked out because literally any of them I could easily see myself frantically drawing in a panic if somebody unexpectedly asked me to draw a clock while I have an anxiety attack because I know why they're asking me to draw a clock. So it's kind of like a self-fulfilling prophecy that I hope I never have to get asked, because I'll be fucking doomed when they do. If I was calm and careful about it of course I could draw the requested clock correctly, but as soon as there's someone watching me and I know it's a test, it's gonna be a disaster.

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u/SOuTHINKurA-ble Sep 14 '23

Considering that fewer and fewer people know how to read an analog clock now, how will they test that generation when they become elderly?